Your Insulation Could Be Risking Your Homes Health - Vancouver, WA
Challenge
Crawl space insulation is incredibly important in maintaining your homes health. Proper insulation helps with energy efficiency, moisture issues, and by promoting better air quality. But, most homes have fiberglass insulation in their crawl space which has been proven to offer more negative effects. Fiberglass insulation absorbs moisture in the air and causes it to sag and fall from the sub-floor. As a result, there is an increase in heat loss which costs homeowners way more for the heating/cooling systems to keep up. It also is known to heighten exposure to mold and mildew growth because it retains so much moisture from the air. So what is the solution for proper insulation in the crawl space?
Solution
At John's Waterproofing the first thing we do with every encapsulation is remove all the fiberglass insulation. Because it is known to have harmful effects on the homes health, we replace it with a different insulation installation using TerraBlock and Spray Foam. TerraBlock is a 3/4 inch thick insulation foam that gets installed along the base of the crawl space. It is cut to perfectly fit into each individual space so none of the dirt beneath is exposed. It helps improve the homes energy efficiency because it acts as a thermal insulator and can control the environment to maintain around the same temperature year round. As a result, the heating and cooling systems don't have to work as hard to keep up with the constant climate changes from the outside. The other type of insulation used in encapsulation is Spray Foam. This is a material that goes along the foundation walls and expands to fit into every crevice. It creates an air-tight barrier by air sealing the space and insulating it. Basically, it helps prevent air leaks and moisture buildup. Overall, fiberglass insulation has been proven to cause more harm to the structural integrity of the home and at John's Waterproofing we offer encapsulations that will keep you from worrying about what's going on in the crawl space.
